Nicole Kosta Completes Red-White Series With Canada's National Team

CALGARY, Alta. – Quinnipiac women's ice hockey's junior forward Nicole Kosta (Mississauga, Ont.) wrapped up her time with Team Canada as she finished with two assists in the three-game Red-White series. Kosta was selected to join the 27 players already chosen for the Canadian National Women's Team in preparation for the intrasquad Red-White series from Aug. 21-24.

Hockey Canada placed Kosta on the 20-member Red squad on Aug. 19 and followed with two full days of practice before the series began on the night of Aug. 21. Game one commenced with the White squad coming away victorious, 3-1. Rebecca Johnson scored the only goal for Red while Vicki Bendus found the game-winner for White late in the second period. Red bounced back in game two as they dominated White, 6-2, on Aug. 22 from Markin MacPhail Centre. Jenelle Kohanchuk led the way for Red with two goals and Kosta also chimed in with an assist in the victory. Kosta represented the lead assist on a goal from National Team member Haley Irwin at 9:11 in the third period. The series finale was the most-dramatic game of the three as the score remained tied at 1-1 through overtime and ended with White taking the shootout victory, 2-1. Kosta once again stepped up in the third game as she assisted on a goal from Clarkson's Carly Mercer at 17:08 in the second that tied the score and represented the only goal for Red on the evening.

For the series, Kosta finished in a tie with Irwin for the most assists on Red with two and also finished in a tie for third place with Johnson and Kohanchuk for the most points of any Red player. Despite losing the series, Kosta and the Red squad outscored White 8-7 in the three-game set.

Kosta was one of 13 players chosen out of 40 who attended Canada's National Women's Development Team selection camp earlier this month. The selected players joined the 27 who are currently centralized with Canada's National Women's Team. As a part of the National Team's training for the upcoming 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, the Red-White exhibition series splits the players into teams for an exciting three-game set.

This wasn't the first go-round for Kosta with Team Canada as she has been a member of the National Development program since 2011. Among her international accolades includes earning silver for Team Canada U-18 in the 2011 World Championships, bronze for Canada's U-22 Team at the 2012 MECO Cup, and participating in the U-22 Team's three-game series against the United States in 2012. Adding her 2013 accolades in the U-22 Development Team selection and Red-White series to the mix, Kosta has never failed to register at least one point in any level of international competition within Canada's National Teams.